This application is related to, and being filed concurrently with, an application by Douglas Infiesto, David Frankenbach, and Joe Winston, entitled xe2x80x9cVehicle Entertainment System Having Seat Controller Cards Programmed to Operate as Both Browser and Server,xe2x80x9d the contents of which are incorporated herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle entertainment system, and more particularly, to a vehicle entertainment system in which built-in test environment servers are provided for replaceable units of the vehicle entertainment system to locally manage remote test requests that are transmitted in compliance with HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP).
2. Description of the Related Art
Hypertext documents are computer files containing text and images with links, more commonly referred to as hyperlinks, to other hypertext documents. The coding language that is used to create hypertext documents is known as HyperText Markup Language (HTML). The protocol for moving hypertext documents across an interconnected network of computers, e.g., across the Internet or an intranet, is known as HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP). This protocol requires an HTTP client program on one end and an HTTP server program on the other end. The HTTP client program is known as a browser. It is the software that displays hypertext documents and manages inputs thereto. The two most popular types of browsers are Netscape Navigator(trademark) and Internet Explorer(trademark). The communications protocol that is used in the interconnected network of computers, e.g., the Internet or intranet, is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
Each hypertext document has an address associated therewith. This address is known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Generally, a user requests hypertext documents using the browser by either typing in the URL, or by maneuvering a cursor to a position on the displayed hypertext document that corresponds to a hyperlink to the URL and actuating the mouse button. The latter method is commonly referred to simply as xe2x80x9cclicking on the hot-spotxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cclicking on the hyperlink.xe2x80x9d When the user types in the URL or clicks on the hyperlink, the browser transmits the URL corresponding to the requested hypertext document to an HTTP server computer in which the requested hypertext document resides. The server computer retrieves this document and transmits it back to the browser.
Although the URL is typically associated with a hypertext document, it may be associated with an executable program instead. If a URL that is associated with an executable program is specified by a browser, the server computer in which the executable program resides executes the program using any input data received from the browser, and the output of the program is transmitted back to the browser, typically in the form of a hypertext document.
An in-flight entertainment (IFE) system providing Internet or intranet access is proposed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/085,180, filed May 26, 1998, entitled xe2x80x9cPassenger Entertainment System, Method and Article of Manufacture Having Improved Area Distribution Equipment,xe2x80x9d the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. In this system, client computing capabilities are provided at every seat by equipping each seat with an input device (a passenger control unit and a touch screen), an output device (a display unit), and a processor programmed with a browser. The connection to the Internet is provided by a satellite uplink and downlink. The system may also function as an airborne intranet to permit the passenger to select and control product ordering services, passenger services, and entertainment and communications services without connecting to the Internet.
When providing either Internet or intranet access, the above-described system employs a system file server, which is referred to as a cabin file server (CFS) in an IFE system. In the case of Internet access, the CFS functions as a proxy server to manage the connections to other server computers over the Internet. In the case of intranet access, the CFS functions as an HTTP server computer to directly manage requests for hypertext documents and program executions.
In the above-described IFE system, although the Internet or intranet access is available, the testing of the components of the IFE system is not carried out using the Internet or intranet. Rather, a built-in test environment (BITE) tester, which is specially configured to carry out the testing operations on the IFE system, is provided. As a result, none of the advantages of the Internet or intranet access is realized by the IFE system during testing operations. For example, in the above-described IFE system, the operator interface for controlling the BITE tester is customized to the special configurations of the BITE tester and is accessible only at a terminal that is directly interfaced with the BITE tester. The operator interface cannot be accessed from other locations using a standard graphical user interface, such as a browser, even though they are networked with the BITE tester over the Internet or intranet.
A centralized control of the testing operations at the BITE tester is undesirable for two additional reasons. First, when several test requests reach the BITE tester at about the same time, the requests will have to be queued, causing undesirable delays. Second, if the BITE tester is down for maintenance or repair, the BITE tester will be unable to process any pending test requests until the maintenance or repair has been completed.
An object of the invention is to provide a vehicle entertainment system in which testing of line or shop replaceable units (LRUs or SRUs) is controlled over the Internet or intranet.
Another object of the invention is to provide a vehicle entertainment system in which testing of LRUs and SRUs is decentralized.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an LRU or SRU for a vehicle entertainment system that is programmed to test itself in response to a test request received over a communications network of the vehicle entertainment system.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method of testing LRUs and SRUs over the Internet or intranet from a remote location.
The above and other objects of the invention are achieved with a vehicle entertainment system having LRUs and SRUs that are programmed as microservers to receive and carry out test requests that are transmitted from a browser connected to the LRUs/SRUs over a communications network of the vehicle entertainment system. Test results are transmitted back to the browser over the communications network for display. The browser may be a part of the vehicle entertainment system or connected to the communications network of the vehicle entertainment system from a remote location. Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is used as the protocol for transporting the requests and the execution results over the communications network, and so, the programming of the LRUs and SRUs may be achieved with a standard HTTP server program and the browser may be any HTTP browser such as Netscape Navigator(trademark) and Internet Explorer(trademark).
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description of preferred embodiments which follows.